USA > New York > The Minute men of '17 - a history of the service rendered during the recent world war by the Ninth Coast Artillery Corps, New York Guard and the Veteran Corps of Artillery, state of New York > Part 6
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I was assigned to post No. 9, and reached there after dark one black night, and was immediately posted by Sergeant Cazell for a two-hour trick, followed by another at I o'clock A. M. The excitement and unusual hours did not make for sleeping be- tween tricks so that when finally relieved I sank immediately into a heavy sleep, not for long, as I was aroused at daylight by what I first thought to be mosquitoes, but which turned out to be flies, big ones. Looking up, the whole inside of the tent seemed to be covered with them. How our predecessors lived there I could never understand, but the first duty of the day was sanitation. We filled old and made new latrines; combed the bushes for fly food, and found hundreds of partially emptied food cans, and all uncleanness. One good hard day's work by all hands cleaned up and got rid of the ffies. Our medical officer arrived, inspected, approved our work, and also brought us disinfectants. The men took great pride in the Post, and we la- bored like Swedes to make it and keep it tidy. The contractors had left all kinds of rubbish about, old cement bags and much tarred paper being included, which was half embedded in the earth and overgrown with underbrush. We got out what we could, and left the rest, to our sorrow. We also found broken stone and carted it in buckets to make pathways and otherwise adorn our surroundings, for all of which we received commendation from our officers, and felt we had a swell Post. But one day arrived an Inspecting Officer from the Adjutant-General's office, accompanied by our own Commander. Entirely ignoring the spotless condition of our tent and its vicinity, this demon proceeded to roam through the thickets, and announced that tar paper and bags were in there which should be removed and burned. We happened to be
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in charge of the Post, and Lieutenant Perry conveyed this information to me and or- dered the condition rectified. We asked for axes, pickaxes, and ten men to help, but he only smiled his genial smile and retired. After we had sworn our mad off, we got out what tools we had and went to work, and by night had gathered three huge piles of tarred paper. After supper we lit them off, and brought to the scene every- body not otherwise engaged, from the Commanding-Officer down. He broke all speed laws in getting there. Also the White Plains Fire Department telephoned to see if their aid was needed. Our attention being called to the indecency of our con- duct, we deeply regretted our thoughtlessness in allowing our zeal to please to over- come our discretion, and the admonition we received was tempered by the semblance of a comprehending smile which belied the Commanding-Officer's words. On the whole, we voted the incident a success.
Our Post was a fixed one, located in a deep hollow from which two pathways led through bushes and undergrowth to the plain beyond. At night it was a black hole, and a sentry hadn't a chance against any prowler who wished to stalk him. An in- genious private invented for our security what we termed our burglar alarm. It con- sisted of two lengths of wire each about sixty feet long, from which depended various bottles, tin cans and other noise-producing agencies. These, after nightfall, we stretched knee high on the two dangerous sides of our pit. If touched, they gave forth a vigorous alarm. No trespasser ever came near them, but we saw to it that every new officer did, often to his alarm and our repressed joy, especially when one of them got funny and came in the back way to see if we were alert. One of the officers came near being plugged at this game one night, but that was not on our Post. He decided that it was not a wise procedure.
At one period we were very short of men, and a number of boys, newly recruited by a New York City regiment, were sent to help us out. Four of these, entirely inex- perienced, were sent to Post No. 9, and I, acting as Corporal, was left alone with them to hold the fort. They were all East Side Jews. Realizing my responsibility for their and my own welfare, I duly sent them, about 9 o'clock A. M. the first day to bathe. Our facilities for this purpose were crude, our only water supply being a spring located about 200 yards from the camp. We had dug a basin below the spring proper and laid down some boards. Standing on these, well soaped, a comrade would dip up and pour over one a few buckets of cold spring water, for which con- venience we hunted baths in couples, and were thankful. Having explained the pro- cess, I sent off the four boys together, and in due time they returned ,heads wet and faces shining with soap. Ditto the next day and the next, and that afternoon as a reward for duty well and cheerfully done, I let two of them go for a stroll, and down the line they went, until they met Private Kent's bull dog who promptly gave battle and nipped one of them in the leg. In the midst of the excitement arrives the omni- present C. O. Perry, who, desiring to see the extent of the injury, ordered the urchin stripped. One look was enough. "Sergeant take these men to White Plains and give
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CAPTAIN THEBAUD, ORDNANCE OFFICER.
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them a hot bath." Then he came out to see me. They had Tom Sawyered me, but it didn't go with the boss. "You should have seen them wash." Yes, sir," very meekly and dispiritedly. Such is authority. Joy be, at the end of a week, I got a day off, handed over my command and departed. I returned to duty the following after- noon to find that terrible things had happened. One of the Jew boys had gotten curious as to what the rest of us had in our luggage, and in pawing over the Sergeant's grip had found his Automatic. "He did not know it was loaded," and promptly no- tified the world of his crime by discharging it. The bullet whizzed by his sleeping comrade, out of the tent and past the head of the Sergeant. What became of it subse- quently did not develop, but what to do with the boy did. We sat in judgment, de- cided not to report it, scared him to death, gave him double duty and extra duty and police duty enough to break his back, all of which he did cheerfully, and I am sure will never forget. In addition, his pal licked him.
Our Transportation Department was always weak, and at one time, the flivver quit entirely. Always ready at a pinch, one of our poorer members phoned for his third best car and chauffeur. It was a peach. Nice blue carpet, flower holder and all the fixin's. I remember the carpet, for on my last trip in it I carried nine sloppy cans of K.O. and I know how that carpet looked. The chauffeur was a dandy- very high class. How he condescended, I don't quite know. At any rate, one day a sergeant came up to our Post laughing as if he would split. "Funniest thing I ever saw," he gasped. "Just came by Post. .... There was (the car owner) down in the road cleaning his mess kit with dust, while the French chauffeur sat on the bank smoking cigarettes and watching him." Nothing better shows the spirit of the men, I think, than this incident.
Such incidents as these heighten the Aqueduct existence, but it must not be sup- posed that there was no seamy side to the experience. On the contrary, hardships aplenty were met and endured without murmuring. The Posts were generally under- manned, the hours of duty long. More than one man had occasion to put in twelve to eighteen hours of duty at a stretch without relief, eating his meals as best he could on Post. But the hardships were never much talked of and now are forgotten, and the only memories that remain are the pleasant ones.
No better set of men ever came together anywhere than the Fourth Battery V. C. A., and the impulse that brought them together sprang from so great a cause that it blotted out any smallness, selfishness or personal ambition that might have existed among them, the result being a radiant cheerfulness under what would be to them, ordinarily, dis- comforts to be dreaded, a sense of responsibility which precluded shirking, and a spirit of helpfulness and comradeship which smothered incipient disagreements at their start.
Nor can we fail to testify to the great part played by our officers in maintaining this spirit by their consideration and sympathy for the men. They got results and good results by a strict discipline which was always tempered by kindliness and sympathy.
The men did varying turns of duty as their home and business cares permitted,
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TYPICAL POST ON THE AQUEDUCT.
HEADQUARTERS COMPANY. Left to Right: Miss Lucas, Corp. Tillinghast, Miss Le Boutillier, Miss Rogers, Sgt. Thompson.
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from a week's stay up to those who completed the whole occupation. No man who did that duty but was better for it physically, mentally and morally; and, as has been said, it made many of the older men years younger, for they thought they were dead, but found through the experience that they were alive and still able to be useful to their country.
Nor was their example without its influence on younger men, who, when they saw their employers leave their desks, don the "Khaki" and shoulder a rifle, grasped the meaning of it all and hied themselves to the recruiting officer to offer themselves to their Country for her protection and safety.
All in all, the mighty spirit of America was never better shown forth than by the sometimes-derided "has beens" of the Fourth Battery V. C. A., who proved to all who saw or knew of them that patriotism still flames in the hearts of men with silver- thatched heads, and that their brave hearts, actuated by a sense of civic duty, can overcome physical disability that is more apparent than real.
There were a number of officers and men not on the payrolls of the First Provisional Regiment who rendered very valuable ser- .
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vices to that command. Colonel Delafield was placed in command of the State camp at Peekskill and of that part of the First Pro- visional Regiment which was mobilized there on August 9, 1917, Lieutenant (later Colonel) Burleigh acted as his Adjutant. The Colonel frequently inspected the posts manned by men from his command and did much to alleviate their privations. As trustee of the Special Fund he furnished supplies and equipment to the First Provisional Regiment. How much he did can be estimated by the amount disbursed from the Special Fund of which he was trustee. Over fourteen hundred dollars was expended in supplementing the supplies furnished by the State, covering the entire period during which our provisional batteries were on duty in the First Pro- visional Regiment. These services and the services of those who
WS 1913
INSPECTING A CULVERT.
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LIEUTENANT TAFT'S HEADQUARTERS.
helped Colonel Delafield by his direction were rendered as part of the military forces of the State called out pursuant to the Governor's order and were rendered without pay. Lieutenant Burleigh made weekly inspections at first for Colonel Delafield but later longer and more extended ones for the Adjutant-General as a member of his staff. Major Edward C. Delafield rendered services in making in- spections, forwarding troops, seeing to it that officers and men of his battalion did their full share of the work. Captain Thebaud, our Ordnance Officer, was indefatigable in his care and inspection of the rifles. Captain Chandler Smith, Adjutant, frequently super- intended the transportation of men going on duty. Captain Lum- mis, Commissary, furnished rations for the first contingent and arranged the transportation of the baggage of officers and men. The sergeant of the Headquarters Company worked early and late
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in supplying casual replacements and in keeping records. Corporal Tillinghast of the same company detailed as chauffeur was always useful. Many officers and men spoke highly of his services. Dur- ing the entire period Private J. G. Phelps Stokes (later Captain- Adjutant, 9th C. D. C.) was active in confidential work for the Government of the United States relating to national security and defense, and incidentally for the State of New York, part of it con- ducing largely to the safeguarding of the Aqueduct.
Dr. Charles Alexander Clinton, later Surgeon-Major, Ninth C. A. C. N. Y. G., was serving as a private in the Fourth Battery V. C. A. and, with the other Fourth Battery men, was in Company B, First Provisional Regiment, when he was appointed Assistant- Surgeon and detailed to Regimental Headquarters. He had charge of the Sanitation of all the camps of the Aqueduct. He was greatly beloved and respected by both officers and men.
CAPTAIN LOUIS J. PRAEGER, LIEUTENANT WILLIAM L. SAYERS, SERGEANT SCHUYLER HAMILTON.
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CHAPTER EIGHT AS THE MEN SAW IT
T HE guarding of the Aqueduct was a remarkable piece of work, particularly when it is borne in mind that it was necessary to fit in the services of men who could give their time in varying lengths. It often happened that men would come for alternate weeks, or even every other or third Saturday. The amount of organization and supervision necessary to keep an adequate force properly distributed under such conditions may well be imagined, but the difficult problem was met and solved and the Aqueduct suffered no damage from prowling enemy sympa- thizers. To the men who volunteered for this service the arrange- ment meant hardship for some, but permitted others to serve their country when otherwise it would have been impossible. To many this experience on the Aqueduct is one of the most interesting memories of their lives. Full of comradeship and humor as well as arduous duties, those days will never be forgotten. From the letters written home and the stories told to their friends we may get an idea of the spirit in which the work was carried on. The following is a story told by a mess sergeant in his own words.
"The history of the services of the V. C. A. men on the Aqueduct is primarily a 'personal issue.' At that time, being without a comprehensive system of organiza- tion of the service of Supply and Commissary, the work could not have been carried on without the individual who had either usurped or acquired authority, and acted on his own initiative. Not only was it necessary to act in accord with Headquarters, but also in spite of Headquarters, and unless the C. O. at a particular post intended to do all the patrolling and guarding himself, or through his immediate meagre supply of emergency sergeants, he had to do his own recruiting. In this respect, and I am writing regarding Elmsford in particular, Sergeant A. R. Thompson at Colonel Delafield's office worked untiringly, and it is fitting here to pay a tribute to his strenuous efforts in those days of August and September, 1917 to back up the 'marooned' post commander.
"I well remember, acting as Supply and Mess Sergeant, and on one occasion, First
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Sergeant and Sergeant-of-the-Guard as well, and getting on thereby without friction with myself, telephoning Sergeant Thompson that the fate of New York and the success of prohibition depended upon his securing 'more men,' or I should say 'other men,' and awaiting their arrival on his promise until after ten o'clock, so that the '12 hour on' guard could get their breakfast (10 P. M.) and be ready for Captain Shurick's midnight ride-on the subject of riding, Paul Revere had nothing on this vigilant Captain-I saw him recently (1919) and he informed me he was just catching up on sleep.
In justice to the V. C. A. men, their individual records of endurance should be recorded. Private J. T. L. Doughty, Acting Corporal, Private D. Percy Morgan, Corporal S. A. Crummey, Acting Sergeant; Private W. Irving Kent, Acting Cor- poral; Private H. A. L. Sand, Private C. A. Sherman, Acting Corporal, at Elmsford worked harder and more hours per day for the Empire State than ever before or since.
Corporal William Fisher Howard (later First Lieutenant, Fourth Company, Ninth C. A. C.,) and Private George H. Ford cooked more food on Friday, August 10th, Saturday, August 11th, and Sunday, August 12th, than they have since eaten.
J. A. Dimond and Gomer H. Rees, aided by Mess Sergeant J. H. Pinckney, Jr., and personally conducted by one chauffeur in the employ of Corporal Charles A. Sherman, and by the said Sherman's limousine car, distributed as much bacon, oatmeal and coffee three times per day as Herbert Hoover did in four years.
It would be well to state here that Sherman gave his car away on his return to civilization. Upholstery and paint do not stand up well under the management of a 'Busy Bee Lunch Room Outfit.'
One of the sights of the camp-enjoyed more by visitors than all else-was to see Sherman's chauffeur smoking in the comfortable body of that car and Sherman washing his dishes by his tent side.
Sergeant T. O'Conor Sloane, Jr.,-later Captain, Ninth C. D. C.,-never slept, as Sergeant of the Guard and First Sergeant at Elmsford Post Headquarters he couldn't. For days at a time he did not have his clothes off nor let his pipe go out.
Perry-good old Jack Perry-met the enemy and every other emergency-no man ever accomplished so much with so little assistance. To make one man do the work of two was his daily task; to make one man do the work of four was his evening re- creation. He toiled untiringly, holding the few men he had on their posts days after their time had expired, and in spite of their urgent business calls, by his good fellow- ship and personality. The whole secret of the V. C. A.'s success in this splendid undertaking often hung on just such 'personal equations.'
Paul Tillinghast-later Captain, Ninth C. D. C .- earned his spurs as the 'supply train' connecting the camp of City Island, the cot and blanket, and the man, by his midnight drives-and the quiet lanes of Westchester were turned into humming highroads by Paul in the Colonel's Franklin car.
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CO. A STREET, PEEKSKILL, AUG. 9.
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PEEKSKILL-BACK FROM CHOW. .
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Here also, Major Helen Bastedo with her Motor Corps girls, laid the foundation of experience that later proved of such great value.
Guarding was but an incident those days; the main duties were cleaning up the post. Perry and Sloane court-martialled the pump in the Elmsford house, and gave it thirty days at hard labor.
Dimond, Ford, and Pinckney whitewashed and screened in the mess shack when they weren't dividing up the 'loaves and fishes' among the hungry horde. Ellard- later Captain Ninth C. A. C .- succeeded Pinckney as mess sergeant, and acquiring a colored cook, a retainer of Captain Lummis-so fed the men that instead of want- ing to go home, they found excuses to stay on.
It was a grand and glorious party, more so in retrospection, with no regrets save that each had so little time to give to his State and so little sleep to give to himself.
The attendance record of the Fourth Battery compiled for the State Paymaster's record shows: It contributed 60 men serving a total of 807 days, an average of 131/2 days per man.
The nearest Company to the Fourth in comparative service stands the Sixth Com- pany, with 42 men serving an average of 9.2 days per man, and the First Company, with 30 men serving an average of 8 6-10 days per man."
The following are a few of the many expressions of appreciation written by the men while on duty at the Aqueduct, and con- tributed by their friends and relatives.
"The period, August 15th to 22nd, I spent at Ardsley guarding the Aqueduct, a welcome change from the humdrum of city life, and to show you that I was not inac- tive, I may say that I was detailed cook and did my regular guard duty, being only relieved if I happened to be on guard when it was necessary for me to attend to the cuisine of my post. The good time I had with the boys induced me to go up again for a week from August 29th to September 5th, when I was acting corporal in charge of Post No. 4, and when, notwithstanding added responsibilities, I believe I did practically my full quota of guard duty.
The broken rest that I experienced for the first night or two soon resolved itself into sounder sleep between times, and I am sure that any of the lads who care to spend alternate weeks doing guard duty as I did, will not alone have a bully time, but will have the satisfaction of knowing they have done their duty to the State, and in further return, will have been benefited by the change and life in the open." -(Letter of Jack Ball, Sixth Battery.)
"My favorite watch hours when I first went up were from 2 to 6 in the morning. I do not see how one can go through that watch, night after night, from the darkest hour to day break, learning to distinguish foreign sounds from those of the every-day
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PEEKSKILL, AUG. 9-ERECTING TENTS.
CAPTAIN PERRY'S HEADQUARTERS, ELMSFORD.
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world about him, studying out the mirages of changing shadows, learning to tell the time from the stars, without experiencing a spiritual elevation which must leave its mark on his life."-(Frederick K. Trask, Banker, Sixth Battery.)
"I have pleasant recollections of several members of the V. C. A., Dr. Ayer and those immediately associated with him on Post II, and also how green I was. I recall that Lieutenant-Colonel Delafield seemed to be about eight feet tall, and when I was called upon on several occasions to salute him, I had a bad case of stage fright. I also recall that last day spent in New York in the Seventy-First Regiment Armory, where a theatrical company was being trained. There was considerable difficulty in finding various members of the Company, as for a time they seemed to be more interested in the feminine members of the theatrical company than in the I. D. R."-(Letter of Private H. G. Lambert, Ninth Battery, later First Lieutenant Fifty-Second Pioneer Infantry, A. E. F.)
FROM RECOLLECTIONS OF A SERGEANT
One afternoon in the spring I was walking east on 14th Street opposite Union Square. There was a throng of people going my way. As I came opposite the imitation battleship in the Park I heard the sound of the National Anthem. I saw that they were making Colors and of course I stood facing the music at salute. The record crowd seemed to vanish. but when the last notes had sounded I knew the reason. They had followed my example till the street was blocked and police came up to see why. They were not a fine looking crowd, were not well dressed, but the men had their hats off and tears ran down more than one wo- man's face. They didn't look it, but they were Americans.
I served over eight months in New York City as a Sergeant. It was a wonderful experience. Of course a trim, well-set-up young non-com. was persona gratissima with the girls, but if you wanted anything done give the job to a grizzled old red-faced, gray-mustached Sergeant. When he went in a department store he was no longer mere man beneath the notice of haughty sales ladies. No indeed, he was "it," and from floor walker to cash girl every one wanted to help. Nor was it only in civil life that the Sergeant received the honors due his rank. Often it was his duty to make inquiries and give information to the Headquarters at Governors Island. The Majors and the Lieutenant-Colonels were
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KENSICO DAM-HEADQUARTERS, COMPANY B.
COMPANY B-STREET AND COOK-SHACK.
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as crisp and punctilious in giving the Sergeant his title as if he had been a Major-General.
Howard G. Lambert of the Ninth Battery V. C. A., the writer of the following verses, after the Aqueduct duty was over, entered the service of the United States, received his training at Plattsburg, was made a First Lieutenant, served in the A. E. F., 52nd Pioneer Infantry, and is now Captain in the O. R. C.
SONG OF THE AQUEDUCT
(Dedicated to those members of the Veteran Corps of Artillery, S. N. Y., who served in Aqueduct Posts Ten and Eleven, out of Valhalla).
Post Eleven on a foggy night, Nothing much but the moon in sight ; And the fitful gleam from the lantern red, Reflected from bayonet point o'erhead. The crowning song of the evening breeze Stirring amongst the tops of the trees, And the far-flung call across the dell- 'Post Ten-And all is well.'
Memory will linger on those days, When the fog of the years upon us plays, And oft in the night as we lie abed We will see again the camp fire red And hear again as in dream we fare The sharp cut challenge-'Halt! Who's There?'
We'll remember the cook shack and the tent Well filled with many a grievous rent. And the syphon house that's standing white Against the blackness of the night. And whether we serve the cause at home, Or across the seas in France we roam, We will all remember the fog banks gray And old Post Eleven, V. C. A.
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